'We are going to survive:' Roberto Alomar wants to give a voice to Puerto Rico

When Hurricane Maria hit, Alomar could not reach his father, Sandy Alomar Sr., the long-time major league player and coach, nor his mother or sister. After heading to his hometown to check on their condition, he's giving back and lending his voice. Mike Groll/AP Photo

Andrew Marchand is a senior writer for ESPNNewYork. He also regularly contributes to SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPNews, ESPN New York 98.7 FM and ESPN Radio. He joined ESPN in 2007 after nine years at the New York Post. Follow Andrew on Twitter »

Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar grew up as part of a renowned baseball family in Puerto Rico. Baseball is part of the way of life there and -- with the success of his father and his brother -- the Alomars, it can be argued, are Puerto Rico's first family.

When Hurricane Maria hit, Alomar could not reach his father, Sandy Alomar Sr., the long-time major league player and coach, nor his mother or sister. So he headed to his hometown of Salinas to check on their condition.

They fortunately were all right, but his beloved homeland is not.

"It is devastating," the 49-year-old Roberto Alomar said. "I have never seen Puerto Rico like that."

Alomar's uncle, Demetrio, lost his house. Roberto Alomar has friends whose homes do not have roofs anymore. There are children, he said, with no food. Transportation is blocked as fallen trees remain in the roads.

Alomar is trying to bring attention to the situation. He was hopeful that President Donald Trump's visit on Tuesday might spur an increase in aid.

"The quicker we can get more military personnel to help, the quicker we can recover because in this type of devastation; they know what to do," Alomar said. "They can help us to clean Puerto Rico faster."

Alomar is raising money through his company, Alomar Sports, but he is not alone in baseball. MLB has donated $1 million. The Astros' Carlos Beltran also gave $1 million. Former Yankee catcher Jorge Posada and his wife, Jessica, have raised more than a quarter million dollars.

"They really have nothing," Alomar said. "My goal is to raise money through my foundation. Hopefully, we can go to my hometown to help them and to see what we can do construction-wise and, at least, put a ceiling to live."

Alomar said, right now, his fellow Puerto Ricans are just trying to make it from one day to the next. People are waiting four hours in line for gas and there is a $20 limit. Alomar said that doesn't go too far.

"We are going to survive," Alomar said. "We will stay strong. I just wanted to have a voice. I think if we can get more troops out there to do the right thing, to help us with the electricity, fix the poles, fix this, fix that, I think that is a big help."

His parents and sister have a generator so they are doing better than most, but there is work to do. He wants to give back to his homeland because it has given him so much.

"If it weren't for Puerto Rico, I wouldn't be who I am today," Alomar said.